Whether or not you are attempting to hit New 12 months’s resolutions or simply want a superb exercise or food plan tracker, the most effective well being and health apps may help you get there. And in the event you’re feeling overwhelmed (or underwhelmed) by the alternatives out there, I am right here to share personally-tested exercise and planning apps to get you began.
Some individuals thrive with customized, AI-made exercise or food plan plans. Others profit from social apps like Strava the place challenges and “kudos” from mates hold you motivated. And you would be shocked how a superb spreadsheet or primary exercise log may work higher than an costly app with movies and plans.
Damaged down into particular classes — basic well being/ health apps, exercise apps, companion apps for smartwatches, and weight/ food plan apps — these are the most effective apps that can assist you hit your objectives for 2026, with data on key options, pricing, and why they’ve helped our employees succeed with their objectives.
Common well being & health apps
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Key Well being Options: Sleep Rating, Day by day Readiness Rating, Stress Administration Rating, Menstrual Well being, Meal & Water logging, Mindfulness periods, Pattern “Insights”
Key Health Options: Lively Zone Minutes, Cardio/ Goal Load, Gemini-made customized exercise plans, video exercises, Fitbit/ Pixel Watch integration
Subscription: $10/month or $80/12 months (AI plans/ evaluation, video exercises, long-term experiences)
Why Fitbit will assist along with your objectives: Recommending Fitbit Premium grew to become simpler as soon as Google employed Gemini to make the Fitbit Private Well being Coach. It means that you can “converse” to an AI coach and create a complete exercise plan inside minutes, incorporating dozens of various indoor or out of doors exercise varieties. So whether or not your health aim is to shed extra pounds, enhance at a particular sport, improve muscle mass, stroll extra, or anything, Gemini may give you weeks of customized exercises for that aim. No different app is as complete or customizable.
AI apart, Fitbit advantages from syncing with low-cost Fitbit trackers, so the app can monitor stats like resting coronary heart fee, blood oxygen, pores and skin temperature, sleep zones, and HRV. The brand new app reveals “Perception” playing cards with development knowledge for these stats, so you may see how your well being is bettering as you attempt to get fitter or shed extra pounds.
Why we depend on Fitbit: “Fitbit is straightforward and accessible for anybody simply beginning out with severe exercises.” — Derrek Lee, Managing Editor
“I really like the brand new interface and the way easy it’s to get vital knowledge at a look. I have been impressed with the AI coach and its suggestions. I feel it is among the finest life-style health apps with a holistic method.” — Tshaka Armstrong, Contributor
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Why a spreadsheet will assist along with your objectives: Apps could be motivational and auto-track your knowledge and progress over time, with fancy graphs and AI evaluation. However they’re normally (A) paid, (B) mobile-only, and (C) specialised to 1 exercise.
That is why, in relation to New 12 months’s resolutions or making a exercise calendar, a easy doc or spreadsheet works higher than looking for the proper, all-in-one app! Use different apps to trace particular objectives like miles/ steps/ weight reduction/ books learn, however consolidate all of them into one doc you may examine in your cellphone or laptop, utilizing tables and drop-down menus to label your progress (as I did above).
Or, use a spreadsheet to put out your long-term exercise plans, then a particular working or energy app to place these plans into motion. I used that methodology to plan my months-long marathon coaching (see above), paired with my Garmin watch, and it was extremely efficient.
Why we depend on Google Docs/ Sheets: “Yeah, it sounds foolish, however I really discovered a use for spreadsheets. I want higher physique energy, so lifting weights is the way in which I attempt to keep it. I can hold document of my present routine in addition to any objectives, and there’s loads of room for further notes. Better of all, I can examine off every day’s exercise from my cellphone or my desktop and have entry to all my long-term progress, so I really feel like I am carrying out one thing.” — Jerry Hildenbrand, Senior Editor
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Key Health Options: Exercise recording, native routes with 3D maps, Heatmap, Section leaderboards, Golf equipment, Challenges, long-term exercise evaluation, Athlete Intelligence summaries, race predictions, On the spot Exercises
Subscription: $12/month or $80/12 months (Saved routes, full knowledge evaluation with AI summaries, On the spot Exercises
Why Strava will assist along with your objectives: Most individuals strive tougher when cheered on or competing with others. Strava permits you to join with mates to supply and obtain “kudos,” motivating you to maintain getting on the market. You even have “Challenges” the place hitting sure thresholds nets you badges and awards from companion corporations, and leaderboards the place you may compete to be quickest on native routes and trails. And it helps you discover native Golf equipment with like-minded athletes, in the event you want in-person motivation.
Extra not too long ago, Strava has doubled down on Athlete Intelligence, a software that makes use of your exercise historical past to evaluate the standard of a particular exercise and supply context to your enchancment over time. This 12 months, Strava launched “On the spot Exercises,” with customized actions throughout 40 sports activities varieties and 4 varieties (‘Preserve’, ‘Construct’, ‘Discover’, or ‘Get well’), together with customized routes out of your beginning location utilizing a Heatmap of different customers’ exercises. Basically, Strava gives customized, tailor-made exercises, with out committing to a long-term plan.
Why we depend on Strava: “I discovered my native working group by means of Strava final 12 months; I respect when Strava tells me a sure exercise was my quickest within the final month; and I am motivated to turn out to be the ‘Native Legend’ for sure segments like my close by monitor.” — Michael Hicks, Wearables Editor
“Strava is a superb app to attach with others who’re into health and hold your self accountable. Many health apps sync with it, so you may publish your watch’s exercises and hold your self energetic and motivated.” — Derrek Lee, Managing Editor
Exercise apps
Key Health options: Exercise monitoring, media playback controls, 5K/10K/13.1/26.2 coaching plans, audio-guided runs, challenges, streaks, real-time location sharing
Subscription: None
Why Nike Run Membership will assist along with your objectives: NRC is fashionable with veteran runners as a running-focused various to Strava with related gamification (i.e., badges, challenges, and likes) and long-term stat monitoring.
Why I like to recommend it for newbie couch-to-5K runners, apart from the dearth of subscription, is Coach Bennett’s audio-based guided runs. As you run, the professional working coach will provide you with pointers and motivation as you are struggling to maintain tempo and keep shifting.
Why we depend on Nike Run Membership: “I’ve used Nike Run Membership to run over 1,500 miles throughout a decade and numerous gadgets. NRC handles the fundamentals excellently, with the intense and daring Nike font making your tempo, period, coronary heart fee, and extra seen at a look. It helps media playback controls, and its post-run breakdowns are each data-rich and simple to grasp. The app prioritizes pleasant competitors with different customers (with weekly challenges) and your self (with awards and milestones) whereas reminding you to relaxation.” — Brady Snyder, Contributor
“Nike Run Membership helps me get into extremely productive steady-state runs and brainless interval coaching. I simply open it, select a run that matches my intention, and transfer my ft.” —Tshaka Armstrong, Contributor
Different possibility: Attempt Zombies, Run!, which has dozens of hours of audio tales designed to maintain you motivated as you run, together with some Marvel adventures.
Key Health options: Customizable exercises with customized units, full train record, exercise graphs, macronutrient monitoring
Subscription: $5/month or $30/12 months (Limitless exercise templates, analytics like muscle maps and macros)
Why Sturdy will assist along with your objectives: Whether or not you are figuring out at house or the fitness center, you do not want an app distracting you. You want simplicity, a streamlined exercise log the place you may examine off one train or set, then transfer on to the following, with out giving your self an opportunity to slack off.
Sturdy fulfills that area of interest! You may construct out exercises utilizing its complete train library, together with Heat-ups and Drop/ Failure units, after which comply with that exercise to completion. The PRO subscription offers you extra knowledge, however the free model is greater than adequate to get you began.
Why we depend on Sturdy: “Sturdy is the fitness center diary the place I absolutely flesh issues out. I constructed out my exercises and monitor not solely my progressive overload however my physique half features (i.e., biceps, calves, quads, and so on.).” — Tshaka Armstrong, Contributor
Options: Attempt Hevy for a exercise log with extra neighborhood options, or Fitbod in the event you want AI assist constructing your exercises.
Key Health options: Prebuilt applications, on-demand exercises, professional trainers, train type guides, wholesome recipes
Subscription: $20/month or ~$120/12 months (obligatory)
Why Sweat will assist along with your objectives: Tailor-made to ladies, Sweat has long-term energy applications tailor-made to any ability stage, with a clear UI that makes it straightforward to navigate by means of exercises and see (A) the correct type for each train and (B) the muscle map of the way it’ll affect your physique. It is on the costly aspect however gives quite a lot of worth as a substitute for a (costlier) private coach.
Why we depend on Sweat: “I subscribe to Sweat as a result of it offers an ideal stability of cardio and energy coaching exercises, with out requiring me to plan my whole week. As a postpartum mother with little or no time, understanding precisely which exercise I am because of do every day is extremely useful and actually eases my thoughts.” — Nandika Iyer Ravi, Information Editor
Options: Peloton or Apple Health+ are the plain massive hitters for basic teaching, whereas Centr is a extra hardcore possibility.
Smartwatch/ sensible ring companion apps
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Key Health options: Garmin Run/ Biking/ Power/Triathlon Coach, day by day steered exercises, energy/ yoga exercises, Coaching Standing, Coaching Load, long-term metric graphs, Garmin Golf, Garmin Trails, LiveTrack, downloadable/ customized programs, Challenges & Badges, gear monitoring, race predictions, and extra
Key Well being options: Physique Battery, HRV Standing, Sleep Rating/ Coach, menstrual monitoring, meals logging with AI picture recognition and barcode scanning, Life-style Logging, Well being Standing
Subscription: $7/month or $70/12 months (AI summaries, Diet logging, Trails, Efficiency Dashboard, teaching movies, and different small options, not required)
Why Garmin Join will assist along with your objectives: Garmin watches primarily get reward for the long-lived {hardware} and post-workout evaluation in your wrist. Garmin Join is a bloated, labyrinthian app that takes time to regulate to, however it’s crammed to bursting with options you will not discover elsewhere (particularly without cost), most notably customized coaching plans and day by day steered runs, rides, walks, or energy exercises.
The Actions tab permits you to see how your efforts evaluate week-to-week or month-to-month, whereas the Efficiency Dashboard (above, subscribers solely) makes your knowledge much more colourful and dynamic. Garmin additionally added meals logging, Life-style Logging, and well being outlier warnings to the app not too long ago, making it apparent that it needs Connect with enchantment to extra “mainstream” athletes, not simply the professionals.
Why we depend on Garmin Join: “Garmin feels extra complete and ideally suited for severe gym-goers than Fitbit.” — Derrek Lee, Managing Editor
“Garmin has helped me hit marathon and half-marathon PRs, enhance my VO2 Max, and run extra miles than I ever have earlier than. It motivated me with dynamic run solutions based mostly on my coaching load and working tolerance, so I all the time knew how laborious to push with out overdoing it.” — Michael Hicks, Wearables Editor
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Key options: Readiness, Sleep Rating/ Debt, Well being Panels, Meal logging, Cycle/ Being pregnant/ Premenopause insights, Cardiovascular Age, Daytime Stress, Resilience, Oura Advisor, Automated Exercise Detection
Subscription: $6/month or $70/12 months (obligatory)
Why Oura will assist along with your objectives: The enchantment of a wise ring is to get a laundry record of knowledge, day and night time, for many who discover smartwatches too cumbersome, distracting, or uncomfortable for sleep monitoring. And the Oura Ring tops our greatest sensible ring record on the energy of its app.
Over the previous few years, Oura has packed its app with a complete record of well being metrics, with the AI Oura Advisor because the flashy topper to make all the pieces extra accessible. Other than the plain nightly stats about sleep high quality or coronary heart well being, Oura tries to research long-term traits and supply extra context in your physique’s capability to deal with stress. And it gives some rudimentary health instruments.
Why we depend on Oura: “I depend on Oura as my day by day psychological well being monitor. It tracks once I’m harassed and offers customized suggestions for getting the remaining I want.” — Nandika Iyer Ravi, Information Editor
“The Oura app is a passive expertise for me. I exploit it to examine my sleep high quality and total day by day well being and wellness, as I put on it extra persistently than my Garmin or Pixel watches.” — Derrek Lee, Managing Editor
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Key options: Readiness, Sleep Rating, Exertion Rating, PAI rating, Zepp Coach coaching, meals logging with AI picture recognition, tracked energy exercises with rep counts and muscle maps
Subscription: $12/month or $70/12 months (Zepp Aura superior sleep experiences, music, meditation, and AI coach)
Why Zepp Well being will assist along with your objectives: Amazfit watches are well-known for his or her finances worth, however it’d be tougher to suggest these finances watches if the companion Zepp Well being app weren’t so helpful.
You may discover the standard assortment of nightly well being knowledge, however packaged properly with easy scores. The Zepp Coach may help construct exercise plans tailor-made to your talents, whereas meals logging is extra easy than on different apps. And apart from the non-compulsory Aura sub, all the pieces is free.
Why we depend on Zepp Well being: “I just about use Amazfit solely lately. The Zepp app syncs completely with Strava, which I exploit to share with mates and construct neighborhood. The Zepp app additionally makes it silly straightforward to log meals with its LLM-driven know-how. I’ve written about this a number of instances now, however you need to use pure language to enter your meals and snacks as an alternative of scrolling by means of a bunch of lists or scanning barcodes.” — Nick Sutrich, Senior Content material Producer
Weight & diet/ food plan apps
Key options: Diet monitoring, meals logging, AI recognition, AI chatbot for recipes, calls with nutritionists, linked CGM
Why Healthify will assist along with your objectives: Logging each single meal and snack is a significant time suck, particularly when you must calculate each ingredient to a meal. HealthifyMe’s complete premise is eradicating that delay by letting you merely {photograph} one thing and get the dietary stats in a flash. It additionally has AI teaching and solutions, or a solution to join with actual nutritionists for a price, however the streamlined meals logging is what made this app so fashionable.
Why we depend on Healthify: “HealthifyMe is my go-to for staying accountable to my calorie deficit.” — Nandika Iyer Ravi, Information Editor
Key options: Meals logging, calorie and macro counting, voice logging, AI meal scan, barcode scanning, intermittent fasting tracker, recipes, grocery record sharing,
Subscription: $25/month or $100/12 months (for many options moreover primary handbook meals logging and calorie depend)
Why MyFitnessPal will assist along with your objectives: It is the identical causes we listed for Healthify, besides MyFitnessPal has a barely longer function record in trade for its subscription, like 1000’s of recipes, customized meal planning, voice logging, progress experiences, and so forth. You may additionally discover Android and Apple Watch apps, making it straightforward to examine your day by day stats or rapidly log a favourite meal.
Why we depend on MyFitnessPal: “MyFitnessPal helps me hold monitor of my life-style and habits. I log my meals and workout routines to watch my macros.” — Derrek Lee, Managing Editor
Key options: Connects with sensible scales for weight, physique composition, visceral fats, and extra
Subscription: $10/month or $100/12 months (Well being Enchancment Rating, Heart specialist evaluation, Well being Assistant, Sensible Traits, and so on.)
Why Withings will assist along with your objectives: You may change Withings with different sensible scale manufacturers, however this app tends to be a employees favourite. The gist is you could see greater than your weight, but in addition your physique fats/ muscle share and (with fancier scales) particular knowledge on how that fats is segmented all through your physique. Basically, having a wise scale will enable you to monitor how your well being and health objectives are instantly impacting your physique.
Why we depend on Withings: “Withings is essential to me as a Kind 2 diabetic. It offers me a segmental evaluation of physique fats & muscle losses and features. What’s most vital is the visceral fats metrics, the way it tracks the fats round your inside organs that may actually imply life or early demise.” — Tshaka Armstrong, Contributor
“Withings reveals me my weight, physique fats, and muscle mass, in addition to how I am trending, which helps me know if I must make modifications.” — Derrek Lee, Managing Editor
